Remember Me
by loneguppy
Summary: Olivia is a fugitive. She finds a haven with someone dear to her, her alternate's mother. *SPOILER* for Season 3.
1. Haven

**What if Olivia's mother from the other side helped her.**

* * *

Frank quietly pulls into a small drive of the little cottage. He parks the car. Before getting out of the vehicle, he checks on his passenger in the backseat. She was still asleep.

Ellen Dunham answers the incessant knocking of her front door.

"Yes. Yes. I'm coming. Who is it?_...Frank_? What are you doing here?"

"Mrs. D sorry to bother you. But I need your help."

"It's the middle of the night. Is everything alright with Olivia?"

"She's fine. Look. We need a place to hide. I was wondering if we could use your coach house."

"Of course you can. You said _we_; who else is with you?" Frank opens the back door of the SUV to show her. It was a woman with her eyes bandaged.

"It's a long story…This woman is also Olivia Dunham. Even if she looks like her, she is not your daughter…and she's hurt. Soldiers are after us. I couldn't think of a place to hide..." She stares at this person in the car who bears a striking resemblance to her daughter and couldn't resist the urge to touch the younger woman's face.

"She's burning up, Frank. Get her in the house quickly." Frank reaches over and carries Olivia into the house. Ellen directs Frank to take her to the bedroom. He lays her on the bed. She notices that aside from the bandage on her face, the woman's hands were also wrapped up. Frank turned to speak to Ellen.

"I'll be back soon. I'm going to hide the car. Will you be OK?"

"Go ahead. I'll take care of her."

As soon as Frank left, Ellen went off to get an ice pack and towel. When she got back to the bedroom, she found this Olivia had turned on her side. She placed the ice pack and towel on the night table leaving her hands free to position the younger woman onto her back. But a simple touch caused Olivia to flinch on reflex and begin to cry out.

"No! Don't! Please don't hurt me!"

Ellen was dismayed. What this poor girl must have been through. By instinct, she reached over to cradle Olivia and to soothe her.

"It's OK. You are safe now." After a while when she began to calm down a bit, Ellen placed the ice pack on Olivia's forehead.

Frank came back and saw how Ellen was tending to Olivia. He offered to take over, but she insisted on caring for her herself.

"Let me do it. You've been driving all night. You should get some rest."

By the next afternoon, Olivia was still sleeping, albeit restfully. Ellen wiped the sweat from the exposed parts of her face. She was relieved to see that Olivia's fever has gone down. She adjusted Olivia's covers and then went to the kitchen to fix Frank something to eat.

Over lunch, Frank tried to explain to Ellen where this woman came from. Except for the physical differences, she looks a lot like her Liv.

"She has been locked up for weeks. There was a chemical explosion. She was lucky to be alive. When I learned of her existence, I knew I had to get her out somehow. Fortunately, there were sympathetic people."

Ellen puts a bowl of soup on a tray and takes it to the bedroom. Frank follows her inside. Olivia, having heard voices outside the room, was already up. They saw her trying to feel her way around. All she succeeded in doing was bang her knee at the foot of the bed. She grunted from the pain.

"Olivia, what are you doing out of bed? Come on." Frank guided her back. Propped up her pillows and helped her to sit up.

"Where are we?" Her voice was barely audible, Ellen guessed from lack of use.

"It's not important. All that matters is that you are safe." A woman said this. She sounded familiar.

"Are you hungry? I've made soup. Why don't you try some?" Ellen put the tray down and picked up the bowl. She held a spoonful of soup to Olivia's lips. It did smell good. Olivia hesitated at first but she was hungry so took a sip. After she was done, the woman wiped her lips with a napkin.

"That was delicious. Thank you." This made Ellen smile.

"You are welcome."

Frank knelt by Olivia's bed. He had been waiting for her to finish.

"Hey Olivia, I'm going to remove the bandages from your eyes. OK?" Olivia nodded.

Frank unwound the gauze around her head. Then he removed the pads covering each eye. The skin around her eyes still had lesions. He waves his hand in front of her. In the dimly lit room, he could tell that Olivia's eyes were still unseeing. She blinked some tears away.

"Can you see my hand?" He waves it in front of her again. She shakes her head.

"No. I can only see shadows."

"Don't worry. Your sight should return in a few days. Ellen will let us stay here for as long as it takes." Olivia had a sudden realization.

"_Mom_?"

**

* * *

When I found out that Olivia's mother would appear in Season 3, I had to imagine some scenes between the two of them.**  
**I even named her Ellen. It stands to reason Rachel would name her daughter after her mother. _Ella_ being a diminutive form of _Ellen_.**


	2. Getting to Know Her Better

Later that evening, Olivia felt well enough to get up. She had been sleeping all afternoon. Besides she was curious about her "mother". But because her sight had not returned, she slowly felt along the edge of the bed, and carefully navigated around the bedposts. She eventually found the door. Once she ventured out of her room, she took tiny steps so as not to bump into anything. Mmm. It looked like Ellen was cooking. She just had to follow the aroma to the kitchen to find her.

"Hello. Is that vegetable stew I smell?" Olivia said with a nervous smile.

Ellen looked up from her pot and saw Olivia standing in the room. She had been so busy making the stew; she didn't notice her there.

"Oh. Olivia. Why yes, it is. You are just in time for supper." Then Ellen noticed how Olivia stopped just shy of the coffee table. She put down the spoon she was holding and went to guide Olivia the rest of the way to the dining table.

"Sit down right here. I'll bring you a bowl."

They ate their meal in companionable silence. Because Olivia's hands were bandaged, Ellen had to help her with the spoon. After supper, they shared tea. They sat on the sofa in front of a warm fire.

Olivia was reflecting on the events of the day and absentmindedly touched the scars on her face. Ellen noticed what she did.

"Does that hurt?" The question interrupted Olivia's reverie.

"No. Not that much now." After a moment of silence Ellen asked Olivia another question.

"Who is Ella? You say her name when you sleep."

Olivia took a shaky breath before speaking. "Ella is my niece; Rachel's daughter."

Like a proud grandmother, she asked many questions about Rachel and Ella; forgetting for an instant her own daughter had passed away some years ago.

"Rachel had a daughter. Oh. She must be so beautiful. What is she like? Is Rachel happy?..."

When Ellen paused, Olivia asked if she was OK.

"Forgive me. I was just staring at you. I know Frank said that we are not related, but I feel a strong bond with you. I know you are not my Liv. Your personalities couldn't be more different. I can see why though. You must have had your fair share of heartache. A mother knows these things." Ellen stroked Olivia's face.

"Sorry. I'm staring again." This made Olivia let out a small laugh.

"Look at me. I must be a sight." She bats her own hair.

"You look fine. Your hair just needs a little brushing. Let me do that for you." Ellen went off and came back with a hairbrush.

Ellen started at the top and moved the brush down in long even strokes, just like Olivia's mom used to do when she was a girl. Olivia could feel tears stinging her eyes. Before long she was crying. Ellen stopped and put a hand on Olivia's back.

"What's wrong?" Olivia just kept crying.

"I miss her so much." She said this between sobs.

"Oh. It's alright, honey. I'm here now. Hush." Ellen puts her arms around her. She held Olivia until the tears subsided. Ellen wanted to be able to comfort her. Whether or not she knew it, Olivia needed her, just like her girls did years ago. Then as now, she wishes she could make the bad times go away with a simple hug.


	3. Happy Times Together

The morning sun was bright, coming through the windows. The sun shone on Olivia's face, when she awoke. The bright light made Olivia squint when she opened her eyes. Instinctively, she brought her hand up to shield her eyes. It was then she realized she could see her hand. Excited by this fact, she went to seek out Ellen. Olivia found her outside tending her vegetable garden.

When their eyes met, Ellen knew right away that Olivia had recovered her vision. Ellen smiled back at her.

Olivia's expression was one of joy. She thought her _mother_ was the most beautiful sight to behold. She embraced Ellen and looked as if she was about to cry again.

"Silly girl, it's wonderful that you can see again. Now go tell Frank the good news. He's in the garage." Ellen watched as Olivia took a look back while walking in the other direction.

Later that day, Ellen wanted to take Olivia down to the river.

"I may be old, but I am self-sufficient. I grow and catch everything I eat around here. Let's see what's for dinner shall we."

Ellen put on a pair of hip waders. She gave Olivia a raincoat to keep dry. She grabbed a cord of rope on the way.

Ellen led them on a narrow winding trail through the woods; about ten minutes walk from the house. The river bank can be slippery. So she took one end of the rope and tied it around Olivia's waist and tied the other end to her own waist. There was a good three yards of rope between them. In case one of them fell into the water, one can pull the other.

Olivia stood to one side and admired the scenery, while Ellen inspected the fish traps. She called out for her to be careful. Ellen simply waved back. Ellen was trying to unstuck a fish trap that got snagged on a rock, when she fell in.

"Mom!"

By the time Olivia reached the embankment, the current had already carried Ellen to the middle of the river. Although she was not in danger of drowning, the strong current prevented her from swimming to shore on her own. Olivia remembered that they were still tethered together. She just needed to pull her back. She took off her shoes and held onto the length of rope in front of her, making sure it looped around a tree trunk for leverage, before jumping into the water herself. Now all she needed to do was to stay afloat long enough without being stuck in an undertow.

With both hands she pulled on the rope as hard as she can. But her bandages got wet and she lost her grip on the rope. She tightened her hold and pulled again. It was working. She just had to pull one more time and Ellen would be safe.

Ellen managed to make her way over to Olivia and enveloped her in a hug.

"Oh. Mom."

Just then Frank made his way to the river bank. He offers his outstretched hand to Ellen and helped her out of the water. Together they hoisted Olivia out.

Frank said, "Looks like I caught a couple of Dunhams." Everyone including Olivia laughed at his joke.

Frank and Ellen were about to get up and leave, when they noticed that Olivia was still on the ground, exhausted from the physical exertion.

"I am glad Mom forced me to take those swimming lessons."

Ellen bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

"Me too, Sweetie."

Back at the house, everyone has had a chance to clean up. After Frank bandages Olivia's badly scraped hands, he tells her that Charlie Francis has set up the equipment to send her home.

"We leave tomorrow morning for Boston."

Ellen had been listening silently the whole time. She sits down next to Olivia.

"I've really appreciated the time we've spent together, Olivia. You've given me a new hope and something to cherish, now that I know that I have a daughter and a lovely granddaughter somewhere in all of creation."

"I am no good at saying goodbye. If at all possible, I would like to stay in touch. It would mean a lot to me, Mom."

"I won't say no to that."

That night, Ellen and Olivia made a concerted effort to get to know each other some more. They shared laughter and tears, talking about everything from the cow in the lab to the moose that ate Ellen's straw hat. They talked all night, wishing that morning wouldn't come.

Morning did come. Mother and daughter share one final goodbye in front of the house.

"I packed a lunch for you. It's the soup you liked so much. Here." Ellen holds out a bag.

"Thank you…for everything."

"Just promise me you will lead a happy life."

"I will.'

Ellen watches as the car drives off.

_Mother's Day 2011_

Normally, Liv just sends her a card. This year, she sent a package as well. She is stunned by what she finds inside. It's a framed photo of her girls, Olivia, Rachel, and Ella. A tear rolls down her cheek as she holds the photo close to her. Ellen places the new picture on the mantle next to the one of her and Liv. She stands back looking proudly at her family. It is no longer a sad reminder of what once was, but a glimpse of what is to come.

~End~

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**Well. I was always going to leave it at that.**  
**Olivia and Ellen have a happy ending.**  
**I think I really like this because it basically boils down to some really nice mother daughter moments, even if it wasn't a Fringe story.**  
**Thanks for all the nice feedback.**


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